RELATING TO EDUCATION.

HB1344

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1344

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO EDUCATION
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION
1.
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The legislature finds that Hawaii
left nearly $14,000,000 in federal Pell Grants unclaimed in 2023, enough to
send roughly forty-five hundred students to a university of Hawaii community
college tuition-free.
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Nationally, nearly
$4,000,000,000 in federal financial aid for higher education went unused by 2023
high school graduates who were eligible for a federal Pell Grant but did not
complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
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When students do not apply for federal
student aid, many students may revert to private student loans, which often have
high interest rates and lack the consumer protections of federal student loans.

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The
legislature further finds that in 2016, Louisiana began to require students to
complete the FAFSA because more than half of high school seniors were not
completing the student aid application.
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As
of 2023, Louisiana was ranked first in the nation for FAFSA completion, with a seventy-eight
per cent completion rate.
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Other
jurisdictions, including California, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, Texas,
and Washington, D.C., have either enacted or considered a FAFSA completion
requirement for schools.
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In Hawaii, the
department of education set a goal to have ninety per cent of high school
seniors complete the FAFSA in the 2020 school year, although completion rates
in recent years have remained closer to sixty per cent.

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The
purpose of this Act is to require the department of education's existing
working group dedicated to increasing awareness and completion of the FAFSA to
create a state plan to make FAFSA completion, or an opt-out waiver for FAFSA
completion, a statewide graduation requirement by the 2027-2028 school year.

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SECTION
2.
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(a)
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The department of education's existing working group dedicated to
increasing awareness and completion of the Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA) shall create a state plan to make FAFSA completion, or an opt-out
waiver for FAFSA completion, a statewide graduation requirement by the 2027-2028
school year.

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(b)
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The working group shall:

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(1)
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Include the following additional members to
provide a broader perspective:

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(A)
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A member of the non-profit sector;

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(B)
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High school counselors; and

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(C)
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A representative of the public charter school
system;

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(2)
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Consider the needs of:

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(A)
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Public and private universities; and

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(B)
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The philanthropic community;

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(3)
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Consider additional resources and supports
that are necessary and available, including public-private partnerships, to
ensure successful implementation of the state plan;

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(4)
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Determine the best ways to ensure that the
process for opting out of FAFSA completion by parents is simple and
unconditional;

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(5)
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Examine the feasibility of establishing pilot
programs by complex area or island;

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(6)
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Consider the best ways to provide greater
support for students through the entire college application process, including
providing the necessary guidance for students to actually enroll in college and
be successful once the FAFSA is completed;

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(7)
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Determine the best ways to protect family
privacy, particularly for undocumented families, and to support schools in
providing hardship-based opt-out waivers when parents fail to respond to the
FAFSA completion requirement; and

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(8)
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Address any other issue the working group
deems necessary.

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(c)
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Members of the working group shall serve
without compensation but shall receive reimbursement for expenses, including
travel expenses, that are necessary for the performance of their duties.

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(d)
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The working group shall be exempt from part I
of chapter 92, Hawaii Revised Statutes; provided that the department of
education shall make the minutes of all meetings of the working group available
to the public on the department of education's website.

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(e)
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The department of education shall provide
administrative support for the working group, including preparing agendas and
minutes, organizing meetings, and reporting on the activities and
recommendations of the working group.

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(f)
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The working group shall submit a report of
its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the
legislature, the superintendent of education, and all complex area
superintendents no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular
session of 2026.

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SECTION 3.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

DOE;
FAFSA Working Group; State Plan; Graduation Requirement

Description:

Requires
the Department of Education's existing Free Application for Federal Student Aid
(FAFSA) working group to create a state plan to make completion of the FAFSA or
an opt-out waiver a statewide graduation requirement by the 2027-2028 school
year.
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Requires a report to the 2026
legislature.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.